Games in hand

[HP Seagull]

I know a lot has been made of our games in hand, and this may well have been mentioned already, but if you look at the fixtures - if the game with Plymouth is postponed then following Bournemouth's game the day after they will have played FIVE more games then us!

Other teams around us will also have played two, three, or four games more also. If we are still top following that round of games, or even a close second or third, we will surely be in a great position to kick on.

I know you always want points on the board, but that amount of games has got to count for something, right?

 

[Beach Hut]

I know you always want points on the board, but that amount of games has got to count for something, right?

Only if you win them

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

Will be a shame if we lose top spot on account of another team playing so many more games.

Enjoying the FA Cup run at the moment but have a horrible feeling it will have a bad effect on our league performances.

 

[mistahclarke]

if we are still in the promotion places with those games in hand it will be fine, but I don't fancy it if we are 10 points behind.

Counting the cost at the moment of not getting a result in Bournemouth, would have been sitting prettier then

 

[HP Seagull]

Only if you win them

Indeed, but our form up until now indicates we would have a good chance of doing so. I'd rather we didn't have to play catch up, however. I just though it was worth posting as I didn't realise Bournemouth will be THAT many games in front of us. Their fixtures are also fairly tough, including Huddersfield and Wednesday (if we still count them) at home.

 

[HP Seagull]

if we are still in the promotion places with those games in hand it will be fine, but I don't fancy it if we are 10 points behind.

Counting the cost at the moment of not getting a result in Bournemouth, would have been sitting prettier then

Six wins out of our last seven isn't too bad though mate!

 

[mistahclarke]

Six wins out of our last seven isn't too bad though mate!

it's great form, I just meant we could be further in front of them

 

[8ace]

Cheaterfield were 12 points in front of us having played loads more games than us at one stage.
We did alright that year.

 

[Giraffe]

You want points in the bag when you're near the bottom but I would always take games in hand when you're near the top. You know what you have to do, you're in good form and off you go.

 

[Ecosse Exile]

I could be wrong here but the seaon Rangers got to the eufa cup final in Manchester, they had five games in hand over Celtic, i cant remember how many they needed to win, but they had to play those five games in two weeks!

It was a big ask in the end and they blew it!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

A win against Orient this week is vital.

 

[GT49er]

As things stand at the moment, if we LOST our games in hand we'd still be three points clear! Just worry about winning the next game.

 

[severnside gull]

I think we can re-evaluate after Tuesday night when we have a tricky away game against Orient while Bournemouth have an easy 3 pointer against free-falling Swindon, Southampton are away to Exeter and Huddersfield host Carlisle. If we can maintain the current gap with a win it will make a massive difference to our thinking and of course we will know whether we have Bennett's services to call on for the rest of the season.

On to Saturday and a game at struggling Bristol while Bournemouth host Orient and Huddersfield and Southampton are at Exeter and Peterboro respectively. Again a win is likely to be needed to stay three points ahead.

A must win home game (Hartlepool) follows as Bournemouth travel to Walsall, Hudds take on rivals Oldham in what is close to a six pointer and Southampton entertain Carlisle.

At this point if we have had three consecutive wins we will still be at least 3 points clear but probably no more than that. If we have dropped any points we will probably be top on GD only.

Bournemouth sneak a game at Bristol on the Tuesday before the cup game then entertain Huddersfield (assuming they are out of the cup) in a crucial game. We will have 4 games in hand and may be top equal or may be between 3 and 6 points adrift. Before our next game after that (assuming Plymouth is off) Bournemouth will have played a tough home game against Wednesday while Huddersfield go to Dagenham and Saints are at Hartlepool. Not unreasonable that Huddersfield will sneak ahead of us at that point although we will have 3 games in hand on them and 5 on Bournemouth. We could reasonably be 3 to 6 points adrift of top spot as we entertain Notts County even if we win all of our games between now and then. Yes we will have a massive "games in hand" advantage but the sort of winning run required to keep in touch then inch back ahead is a massive ask.

I think we should seriously consider playing the Plymouth game either on the Monday after the cup game (if we can get a Friday night slot agreed maybe?) or on the Tuesday. It will make keeping in touch easier (potentially) and reduce the pressure as the season progresses




of course Palace reject, Lee, has just made a nonsense of that analysis - hope they get a draw - extra games for Huddersfield, especially big games like Arsenal, are good news for us as they may struggle to retain focus in the league

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

Hudders possibly on their way to an FA Cup replay with Arsenal so that'll be one less game they have over us

 

[ali jenkins]

I would take position over games in hand. You want to be top, simple as that. Even if we are 3 points off the top with games in hand it is still down to us to win them. If we can stay top and have a game or two in hand then thats alot easier to maintain!

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

Arsenal win. Oh well

 

[ali jenkins]

I dont think we need any more games called off, we have EIGHT games in March and SEVEN in April! I dont think we can fit too many games into those months!!!

 

[BensGrandad]

It is an old and proven saying in football you must take each game as they come so a win on Tuesday please.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

We could really do with a game on the Tuesday after Brizzle and/or the Tuesday after Hartlepool to ease the mayhem that appears to be March and April. Not sure why re-arranged matches need to be so far in the future.